Danger? Danger?!?
Do you still have your special eclipse glasses from the June eclipse and
Venus transit events? You might be able to see a large sunspot complex
on the lower half of the solar disk. Designated AR1520, this large
sunspot group erupted a large CME event (Coronal Mass Ejection) on July
12. This large amount of solar matter is expected to impact the Earth
orbit on Saturday, July 14 at about 3:17 AM Eastern time (1:17 am
Mountain time). The eruption is already bathing the Earth in a pulse of
UV rays and radio signals from stations in the arctic circle noticed
disruptions. However, no severe incidents to our lives are to be
expected, though there may be beautiful Northern Lights. Thank goodness
for the magnetic field.
SHIELDS UP! A blast of solar energy is approaching the Earth! Of
course most of us will be hunkered down in our beds, as this event will
occur in the wee hours after midnight. I will be safely ensconced in the
SpaceRubble Command Bunker, but will be tuning in to news on the solar
event on the Internet.
Don't forget to look up information about this event on http://www.spaceweather.com/.
Soyuz Rocket on the pad at Baikonur.
Currently, Expedition 32 on the ISS consists of Commander Cosmonaut
Gennady Padalka, cosmonaut Sergei Revin, and astronaut Joe Acaba. Their
expedition started when Expedition 31 undocked from the ISS and landed
on Earth on July 1st. Tomorrow, on Saturday July 14, the second part of
the Expedition 32 crew will board their Soyuz rocket (TMA-05M) and blast
off to join their team members on ISS.
TMA-05M crew training for rendezvous and docking.
The reinforcements include Soyuz commander cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko,
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide, and NASA
astronaut Suni Williams. They are expected to dock on July 17.
Titan-2 ICBM test launch from silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
On July 11 and 12, 1962, the US Air Force made the second and third
successful launches of the Titan-2 rocket. This second version of the
Titan rocket could carry twice the payload of the Titan-1, and used a
storable version of liquid propellants that would enable it to be fueled
long before actual launch, making its readiness easier. While the
initial version of the rocket carried the largest of the American
nuclear warheads, this rocket would become an essential piece of the
NASA program of space exploration, launching both satellites and
astronauts into space.
Donald K. "Deke" Slayton. NASA portrait.
Back on July 11, 1962, the Mercury Seven astronaut lineup got a
shake-up. Major Deke Slayton (USAF) was re-assigned to take over new
operational and planning responsibilities for the astronaut program. He
had originally been scheduled to fly the second orbital mission, but
Scott Carpenter had flown that mission instead. NASA Doctors had
declared Deke was suffering from "Atrial Fibrilation" of the heart. As
one astronaut put it, "Don't all our hearts fibrilate?" There was much
grief among the astronauts at this decision, but NASA feared such a
condition could lead to a medical emergency while in space away from
medical help. Deke was a realist, and understood that he could still be
of use to NASA. He would eventually resign from the Air Force in 1862,
and take up full time administrative work as the head of the astronaut
program. He would work extensively with astronaut training programs,
detail their schedules and also the flight rotation for missions. And he
would never give up on his desire to go into space.
Original Mercury Seven. Slayton is front row, second from left.
Deke was quite a pilot. He had flown B-25 bomber missions over Europe in
World War 2, and later flew A-26 missions over the Pacific. His postwar
college schooling got him a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, and he
became a test pilot for the Air Force, flying the "Century" series of
fighter-bombers. His heart condition grounded him from flying.
NASA art of TELSTAR-1 in space.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of a great leap forward in world
communications, the launch of TELSTAR-1 from Cape Canaveral on July 10,
1962. TELSTAR-1 was not the first communications satellite; that was
ECHO-1A sent up on May 13, 1960. But ECHO was a reflective-passive
device; signals were bounced, or reflected, off the spherical surface
and received on Earth beyond the horizon. TELSTAR broke new ground. To
begin with, TELSTAR was the first privately sponsored space launch
effort. The satellite was built at Bell Telephone Laboratories, and
included transponders which relayed television or telephone channels
back to the ground, another first. Third, the launch was the 10th
successful blast-off of the Thor-Delta rocket system. Other Thor-Delta
launches had included ECHO-1, TIROS weather satellites, EXPLORERs 10 and
12, ARIEL-1, and OSO-1.
A TELSTAR satellite under construction.
Weighing about 170 pounds, TELSTAR was powered by small solar panels
which generated about 14 watts of energy. It would eventually transmit
the first public television and telephone signals (including the first
Fax!) and would also transmit the first transAtlantic television signal.
Thor-Delta rocket.
TELSTAR-1 was sent into space from Launch Complex 17, pad B, on a
Thor-Delta rocket. Its orbit was elliptical, or egg-shaped, and the
satellite circled the Earth every 2 hours and 37 minutes. It continued
in operation until February the next year, but TELSTAR-1 still orbits
the Earth to this day. The end of TELSTAR-1 was premature, because it
was exposed to higher amounts of radiation than it normally would have
encountered from the Van Allen radiation belt. The day before its
launch, the US Air Force had launched a nuclear weapon into space to
test the effects of the blast on potential enemy rockets. Further space
nuclear tests, including a Soviet explosion in October 1962, eventually
degraded the electronics.
To realize the significance of this launch, you only have to think of
how many times each day you call someone cross-country, watch television
on your satellite channels, or receive the Internet on your computer.
Yes, a lot of towers and cables are involved locally, but the
transmission of channels and frequencies to those localities is done
through satellite communications. Also consider how much of our nation's
defense depends upon secure transmission of coded signals to our troops
and installations around the world. And it all started 50 Years Ago. We
live in a world our ancestors barely dreamed about.
UPDATE: NASA History Office noted the anniversary today on its Twitter
account (@NASAhistory) and provided this link to a wonderful short news
film from the day which shows TELSTAR's construction, launch,and the
first images transmitted. Wonderful little film, thanks, NASA!
http://ia600401.us.archive.org/27/items/1962-07-12_A_Day_in_History/1962-07-12_A_Day_in_History_512kb.mp4
